Adding money is where coin counting turns into a practical, everyday skill. It’s the difference between knowing that a coin is worth 20p and being able to work out that three items costing 20p, 35p, and 15p add up to 70p.
For children, the tricky part isn’t usually the addition — it’s adding amounts that involve different units (pence and pounds, or cents and dollars) while keeping track of a running total. Play shop games make this natural by giving children a reason to add up money over and over again.
Why Money Addition Is Different From Regular Addition
Adding 20 + 35 + 15 on a worksheet is straightforward. Adding up money introduces extra layers:
- Two units at once — pounds and pence, dollars and cents. Children need to understand that 100p = £1 and manage the boundary.
- Decimals in disguise — £1.50 + £2.75 is really decimal addition, even if children don’t know the word “decimal” yet.
- Mental running totals — In a real shop, items are added one at a time. Children need to hold a total in their head and add the next price to it.
- Context pressure — Unlike a worksheet, adding money often happens while other things are going on (a customer is waiting, items are being scanned).
This is exactly why practice in a game setting works so well — it builds fluency in a realistic context.
What to Expect at Each Age
Ages 5–6: Can add two prices with the same denomination (e.g., 10p + 20p = 30p). Starting to add prices that stay under £1 / $1. Works best with round numbers (multiples of 5 or 10).
Ages 6–7: Can add two or three items totalling under £1 / $1. Beginning to handle amounts that cross the £1 / $1 boundary. Can use coins to physically “build” a total.
Ages 7–8: Can add multiple items including pounds and pence together. Starting to add mentally without physical coins. Comfortable with totals up to £5 / $5 or more.
How myplayshop Teaches Money Addition
In myplayshop, your child runs a shop and scans items for customers. Each item has a price, and the child needs to work out the total. This creates natural, repetitive practice with money addition:
- Scanning items one by one builds the running total skill — each new item is added to what came before
- Prices use real amounts — not always neat round numbers, just like actual shopping
- Visual price display helps children connect the written price to the coin values
- Multiple shop types offer different price ranges — a sweet shop has small totals, a toy shop has larger ones
- Immediate checkout — after adding up, the child moves straight to handling payment, reinforcing why accurate addition matters
Because the game uses real currencies and realistic prices, the practice transfers directly to real-world confidence.
Activities to Try at Home
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The menu game — Write a simple menu with 5–6 items and prices (keep them under £1 to start). Ask your child to “order” two or three items and add up the total. Swap roles so they can be the waiter who calculates the bill.
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Supermarket maths — While shopping, ask your child to keep a running total of the first few items in the trolley. Start with just two items, then build up. See how close their estimate is to the till total.
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Coin building — Write a price on paper (e.g., 65p). Ask your child to build that amount using coins. Then add a second price and ask them to build the new total using the coins already on the table, adding more as needed.
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The catalogue game — Use a toy catalogue or website. Give your child a budget (say £5). Ask them to choose items and add up prices, staying within budget.
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Receipt races — After shopping, cover the total on the receipt. Ask your child to add up the items and guess the total before revealing it.
Tips for Parents and Teachers
- Start with single-unit amounts — All pence or all whole pounds. Don’t mix units until single-unit addition is solid.
- Use “friendly” numbers first — Prices ending in 0 or 5 are much easier to add. Move to other amounts once confidence builds.
- Let them use coins as counters — Physically building totals with coins is slower but builds deeper understanding than mental-only practice.
- Don’t rush to paper methods — Column addition with money comes later. Let children develop their own mental strategies first.
- Connect to myplayshop — After hands-on work, a few rounds in the app reinforces the same skills independently. The scanning mechanic makes money addition feel like a game, not a test.